Jules Bianchi crash sends F1 into another period of self-examination | Giles Richards
Tractors on the circuit and a reluctance to move start times raise questions over whether enough is done to keep drivers safe
The accident that befell Jules Bianchi during Sundays Japanese Grand Prix was the most serious in Formula One since Felipe Massa was hit by a suspension spring which left him in a life-threatening situation after qualifying at the Hungarian GP in 2009. He recovered, and it is the sincerest wish of everyone involved in Formula One that Bianchi will too. The driver was undergoing surgery for a severe head injury on Sunday night.
Formula One has not suffered a death on track at a race weekend since Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed at Imola in the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. It is to the sports credit that changes to circuit and car design and improved safety procedures have produced such a remarkable record in an inherently dangerous occupation. But, here, after Bianchis crash, F1 knows it will now have to undergo a bout of serious self-examination.
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